Life from Ann Arbor

Wintering: How to Enjoy Winter with Intention

2026-03-02T12:00:00.003-05:00

Last December I listened to the audiobook How to Winter: Harness Your Mindset to Thrive on Cold, Dark, or Difficult Days by Kari Leibowitz, PhD, which I very much enjoyed and recommend to anyone who isn't sure what to do with a long, cold winter, as we often see in Michigan and other northern regions. The reason I chose this book is because, since moving to southeast Michigan, I have often felt extra sleepy and unmotivated in winter. The people around me often complain about winter as if there is no use to the season. It's too cold and impossible to tolerate.

But growing up in the snowbelt, I know how to dress for winter. It isn't intolerably cold if you dress appropriately. (It can be on days when the Arctic winds reach us as a result of climate change, but that is not the norm. That's why they are Arctic winds and not regular winter winds.) There are also a lot of fun things you can do in the snow! I continue to build snow creatures in my yard even in my 40s. Snow angels (or snow ghosts as they are called in my WIP) are not as achievable, and no one wants to go sledding with me, which saddens me. Though to be honest, southeast Michigan doesn't often get enough snow to really go sledding. Same for snowshoeing or cross-country skiing, but my hopes for it renew every year!

What I am saying is winter is a beautiful season, especially in Michigan, and we have to live through it if we can't afford, or don't have a desire, to flee for 4 to 5 months that it tends to last every year.

You may have heard of hygge. (If not, there plenty of lovely books. I enjoyed My Hygge Home: How to Make Home Your Happy Place by Meik Wiking.) For a few years now, I have tried to incorporate some hyggelig elements to my home to brighten up winter, or at least make it a more distinct experience from the other seasons.

But wintering goes beyond just hygge. And lykke, lagom, fika, sisu, and whatever other Nordic custom you might think of, though all of them are terrific ways to help you get through what may be a difficult season. (For a nice book about these various customs, check out The Scandinavian Guide to Happiness: The Nordic Art of Happy and Balanced Living with Fika, Lagom, Hygge, and More! I read a lot, ok?) It essentially boils down to making the most of the moment. While this is admittedly not terrible advice for any day of the year, it seems especially difficult for people when the days are darker and colder.

This winter, I gave serious thought to what makes winter unique and what I could do take advantage of it. Here are some of the ways that I wintered this winter.

1) Embrace the Darkness

In winter, it gets dark early. And in Michigan, the sky is usually cloudy. There is no way around this. You can get sun lamps, and I do have a full spectrum light bulb in one of the living room lamps. I try not to have it on at night, though, in case it causes my brain to misinterpret the time of day and I have trouble sleeping.

So in the evenings, I go for dimmer lights including candlelight. This includes battery-operated flameless candles that I can set to flicker mode. (We also use them in our jack-o-lanterns at Halloween.) Flickering lights sprinkled around the room in addition to a single lamp make the living room feel warm and cozy to me. If I am reading or writing or playing computer games, I sometimes set the TV or my second monitor to one of those fireplace channels complete with crackling and snapping. Very hyggelig!

2) Stay Warm

Animals are optional, but curling up on the couch or in bed with a pile of blankets and my cats (we have three) is very warm and cozy! One of are cats is a dedicated year-round snuggler, but the other two prefer not to hang out on our laps when the weather is warm (we don't have central air), so this is a winter treat that I savor.

When I venture outside, I am sure to wear enough layers that I don't get cold. I am not one of those people who runs from my car to the building and back again because I wasn't prepared for the weather. For one thing, I can't run anymore. For another, it's icy or slushy and haste often leads to slipping and falling. I just wear a winter coat, maybe a hat, scarf, and gloves, and I'm fine.

My body interprets cold as physical pain, so I am not saying this lightly. I was once stuck in a car with a dead battery in the middle of winter for over an hour. I can't imagine how much more I would have suffered without the proper clothing.

3) Embrace Traditional Symbols

One of the ways I like to express myself is by painting my nails. (Shout out to Haunted Mitten sponsor LynBDesigns!) Last year I got some clear nail stickers with snowflakes painted on them. Since I had some left, this winter I paired them with some sparkly champagne ombre nail stickers that struck me as New Year's-y and later with some blue polish that felt wintery.

I volunteer with local live theatre Neighborhood Theatre Group, and every year there is a Christmas show in December. For the afternoon that I helped in box office, I put in a pair of cartoony Krampus earrings and clipped some reindeer ears with little antlers and plastic holly berries into my hair. Not being Christian, my husband Greg and I only really celebrate Christmas with friends and family, but the winter solstice and Yuletide are special to me because it marks the return of the sun and increase in daylight.

You may notice that I am wearing a pair of earrings that portray a witch on a broomstick flying past a yellow moon in that one picture. This is me being a bit cheeky. While I am Sicilian, my family has never celebrated the Epiphany, let alone Befana the Epiphany witch, who brings treats to the good children of Italy and coal or sticks to the bad ones on Epiphany Eve in January. So I wore my witch earrings on Epiphany and even had a patron ask me about them at work. When I explained the meaning, she looked highly skeptical and walked away.

4) Drink Tea and Bake

I love tea. I enjoy different varieties and flavors of tea. Shout out to former Haunted Mitten sponsor Chapters Tea & Co, which sells tasty book-themed teas and also puts together special seasonal blends. This winter I ordered a bag of the limited-edition Caramel Cabin, a loose-leaf black tea blend with caramel flavors, and one of the regulars, Chai Cafe Vanilla. I will drink hot tea in the summer, but I am more likely to enjoy iced tea when it's hot in an effort to cool down (such as Chapters' Porch Stories, a black tea with "a flavory and tasty combination of mellow peaches with deep, full-flavored apricots"). So sweet teas like Caramel Cabin and Chai Cafe Vanilla are a delightfully warm winter treat!

As I said before, we don't have central air in our home, thus we avoid using the oven (and even the stove) in hot weather. Summer is for grilling outdoors. So when it turns chilly, I am happy to use the oven to make goodies like gluten-free blueberry muffins! The hot air from the oven warms the house and the delicious muffins warm my soul.

5) Go Out and Do Things

As tempting as it is to stay home and hibernate, that doesn't usually lead to enjoying life and making memories. So in addition to cuddling with my kitties at home, I found things to do to make the winter more interesting. You don't have to wait until the weather is warm to go out and have fun!

In December, Greg and I participated in a cookie crawl in Ypsi's Depot Town, where you grab a card with a list of participating businesses, then go around to said businesses to get free cookies. Genius! I hope they do it again next year.

We also went to a kind of open house at Michigan Central, the infamous former train station in Detroit that has been astonishingly renovated by Ford and is now home to several different businesses. It was festively decorated and different food businesses had pop-ups for us to dine. There was gelato. I was pleased.

Throughout Michigan during the winter are many snow and ice festivals, mostly in January. In February, we met up with friends for the 2026 Ice Carving Festival at County Farm Park. It was during a February thaw, so not freezing temperatures, but I liked watching an ice sculpture being created live and checking out the craft tables. We spent maybe an hour there before heading to a nearby coffee shop. Not at all a bad way to spend a winter afternoon!

But your activities don't have to be winter-focused. Greg and I went to the Ann Arbor State Theatre for the first time to watch Wake Up Dead Man, the latest Knives Out mystery. It's easy to ignore how early the sun goes down when you're cozy inside a theater with popcorn and other treats.

6) Read Books That Take Place in Winter

I do this with every season. Here is a list of some of my recent winter reads. They aren't all murder mysteries, though I do read a lot of them.

Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson: Everyone in my family has killed someone. Some of us, the high achievers, have killed more than once. I’m not trying to be dramatic, but it is the truth. Some of us are good, others are bad, and some just unfortunate. I’m Ernest Cunningham. Call me Ern or Ernie. I wish I’d killed whoever decided our family reunion should be at a ski resort, but it’s a little more complicated than that. Have I killed someone? Yes. I have. Who was it? Let’s get started.

Valentine Murder by Leslie Meier: It’s Valentine’s Day in Tinker’s Cove. And while the cupcakes Lucy Stone is baking for her children will have pink frosting and candy hearts, Lucy’s thoughts aren’t centered on sugary sentiments. She’s barely arrived at her first board meeting of the newly-renovated library when Bitsy Howell, the new librarian, is found dead in the basement, shot only minutes before story hour was to start.

Lunar New Year Love Story by Gene Luen Yang (Author) and LeUyen Pham (Illustrator): Val is ready to give up on love. It's led to nothing but secrets and heartbreak, and she's pretty sure she's cursed—no one in her family, for generations, has ever had any luck with love. But then a chance encounter with a pair of cute lion dancers sparks something in Val. Is it real love? Could this be her chance to break the family curse? Or is she destined to live with a broken heart forever?

Fair Play by Louise Hegarty: A group of friends gather at an Airbnb on New Year’s Eve. It is Benjamin’s birthday, and his sister Abigail is throwing him a jazz-age Murder Mystery themed party. As the night plays out, champagne is drunk, hors d’oeuvres consumed, and relationships forged, consolidated or frayed. Someone kisses the wrong person; someone else’s heart is broken. In the morning, all of them wake up—except Benjamin.

A Very Witchy Yuletide by D Lieber: Evergreen's trying to protect her heart. Sawyer's vowed to capture it. As the coven prepares for Yule, will these childhood friends finally turn lovers, or are they lost in the pain of the past? The holiday spirit is merry and bright in this contemporary second-chance Pagan holiday romance.

Undead and Unwed by Sam Tschida: When Tiffenie inherits a fixer-upper home in Valentine, Vermont, thanks to a case of mistaken (okay, stolen) identity, she seizes the chance to get her life back on track. With her newly undead neighbor (it was an accident!) in tow, Tiffenie is determined to live out her holiday rom-com dreams in this picture-perfect town.

I hope you found some of that inspiring. Tell me the ways that you get through winter in the comments!

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What am I Listening to?: Green Day's International Superhits!

2025-08-10T15:41:00.000-04:00

Because I am again sick of listening to ads every two songs on streaming services, and the USB drive I have plugged into my car is getting old (again), I dug through my decently sized CD collection and pulled out an old favorite: Green Day's International Superhits! (Yes, the ! is part of the title.) If you are unfamiliar, it was Green Day's first greatest hits collection that came out in 2001, bringing together the singles of the 90s as well as some other great tracks.

Every time that I listen to Green Day, I think back to a Just Say No assembly in middle school. The presenter, who I think was an ex-cop, played clips from popular songs, claiming they were subconsciously telling us to do drugs so we should stop listening to them. I don't remember what all of the songs were, but I do remember him playing a line from "When I Come Around" by Green Day out of context. It's possible the line meant what he said, that the singer is a drug addict who wants his listeners to do drugs with him despite drugs making you a loser, but that is definitely not how I interpreted it even in middle school.

The line that was played: I'm a loser and a user...

Yup, that was it. I still remember the gasps of some of the kids in the audience who clearly did not watch MTV. He was a USER! Of DRUGS!

The full verse: Oh, I heard it all before / So don't knock down my door / I'm a loser and a user, so I don't need no accuser / To try and slag me down because I know you're right / So go do what you like / Make sure you do it wise / You may find out that your self-doubt means nothing was ever there / You can't go forcing something if it's just not right

Or possibly, he was a user of people? Even middle school me knew this song was about a shaky romantic (or sexual) relationship. And the last two lines of the verse were revelatory. Here they are again:

You may find out that your self-doubt means nothing was ever there / You can't go forcing something if it's just not right

The singer seems pretty self-aware to me and, as in most of Green Day's songs, has more to say than it might appear on the surface. I wish I could say that I have always heeded the advice of these lyrics, but I have not, and it never ended well for me. (Unless you take into consideration the much larger picture of my choices eventually leading me to my husband, which is a decade's long journey at least.)

Another Green Day song that I listened to on repeat at that time (which took effort because I own(ed) Dookie on cassette) was "She." Despite not identifying as a girl, I found the song supremely motivating. Maybe more so because I didn't identify as a girl. Yes, I did feel locked up in a world that was planned out for me. And most of my doubts were someone else's point of view! Barely a day went by without being reminded that people like me were going to spend eternity tortured in Hell, and no matter how much smarter, stronger, or just plain better I was, I would never be considered by society as good as a cis man, no matter how inept or unsuitable he was. (Still true, sadly.)

Although it didn't come out until the year 2000, I imagine that Just Say No cop would have had a field day with "Minority." I don't need your authority? Down with the moral majority? Authoritative types hate that kind of stuff. And then there's the title track from that album, "Warning," which repeats the line, "Is the cop or am I the one that's really dangerous?" (Also still relevant 25 years later.) Question everything or shut up and be a victim of authority indeed. And, of course, there is "American Idiot," both the song and the album. Although I bought the CD, I didn't listen to it as much as I had Dookie, and I was into other music at the time (most of it Japanese).

Am I listening to Green Day now because the lyrics still feel relevant today, over 30 years after I first started listening to them? Yes. Yes, I am. Does this make me sad? Yes. Yes, it does. But I also listen to protest songs from the mid-20th century that I grew up listening to with my parents. Not a lot has changed in a hundred years, but we plod along still hoping and still singing our disgusted, rage-filled hearts out.

Thank you for reading. If you enjoyed this blog and would like to help support future posts, please consider buying me a coffee! Just click the link below.

Embracing Our Differences Michigan Outdoor Gallery

2025-07-16T20:52:00.000-04:00

Every summer, libraries host events to encourage people to read. Ypsilanti has the Summer Challenge. In Ann Arbor, it's called the Summer Game, and it has many facets. After reading (or listening to) 10 books, you get a free book! Yay! Pretty standard for a library summer reading program. But you can also earn badges, and the badges are really where it's at if you want to win prizes.

Both Ypsi and Ann Arbor libraries use their summer programs to encourage people to explore their communities. Sometimes, they are little like scavenger hunts that earn badges which earn points, and points can be traded in for prizes. One of the badges that I decided to earn this summer was one that I had been meaning to complete for a couple of years now. I decided this was the summer to do it! And I would bring my husband Greg along to make it a proper adventure.

At the corner of Huron Parkway and Geddes Road in Ann Arbor, local nonprofit Embracing Our Differences Michigan has erected "a collection of billboard-sized art installations" (per AADL) in Gallup Park. I see them every time I drive past, but there isn't really time to check them out from the car. The quickest way to get to them on foot or by wheel is to head to the Gallup Park Public Boat Launch parking lot, which Greg and I had never been to before. Turns out there is a lovely, smooth, paved pathway that runs along the Huron River and will take you past the art exhibit. It also takes you past a butterfly garden and, if you're lucky, a family of geese complete with fuzzy babies.

Here is a little about the exhibit that Greg and I went there to see (quoted from the website):

Embracing Our Differences Michigan uses the transformative power of art combined with an educational curriculum to celebrate diversity. The centerpiece is a juried, outdoor exhibit featuring 60 billboard size images created by local, national and international artists, writers and students reflecting their interpretations of the theme “enriching our lives through diversity.”

The works of art were from all over our community by people of all ages. Each was accompanied by a quote, such as "Don't include me because of what I have; include me for who I am" from Peilin Li, a 7th grader. And they were so big! It was not only impressive but rather humbling. The day was hot, for sure, but it was also sunny, which really set off the colors of the art.

Because the path was so smooth, Greg thought he might return one day with his roller skates. We also received a kayak as a December holiday present that we haven't tried out yet, so we might take advantage of the boat launch too! A goal for another day.

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Come Say Hi! Chicago Steam Expo 2025

2025-05-28T15:00:00.002-04:00

Image courtesy of Chicago Steampunk Expo

Haunted Mitten cohost Kay Gray and I will once again be presenting at the Chicago Steampunk Expo May 39th to June 1st:

Saturday at 4 p.m. come hear all about Monsters of the Great Lakes!

Sunday at 11 a.m. learn about starting your own podcast with Podcasting and You!

This is Ivy. She loves being in our episodes!

I admit I have been struggling to write much these days. In addition to Haunted Mitten, I am working on finishing the first draft of a novel. It's not the first book I have written, but it is the first one I have a set plan for publication. (Here's hoping all goes well!)

That being said, I am hoping to have some updates here about the Expo. If you are a member of Haunted Mitten's Patreon, you will definitely be finding updates there throughout the weekend!

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Thank you for reading. If you enjoyed this blog and would like to help support future posts, please consider buying me a coffee! Just click the link below.

Hello, 2025

2025-01-07T11:49:00.000-05:00

Turns out that 2024 was an incredible year for Haunted Mitten! Not only were we asked to speak at multiple public libraries, but we were invited to create and run a haunted downtown Ann Arbor tour. It was such a unique and fun experience. And of course I can't forget...

OUR BOOK CAME OUT!

Ypsilanti Ghosts & Legends is available wherever books are sold, although it might require inquiring at the service desk for a special order. You can order online at books2read.com/YpsiGhosts or tinyurl.com/YpsiGhosts. It is available in both ebook and paperback formats.

The year ahead promises so much more activity for us. Be sure to keep an eye on HauntedMitten.com as well as our social media for details.

I had to give up my freelance writing due to chronic fatigue (thanks, Covid), and I have been able to work only a tiny bit on fiction for the same reason. This has been hard. I am having to relearn how to exist, and I think that's stupid, but that is just how it is in a "post" pandemic world.

Here's hoping treatments, if not cures, are released for long Covid in 2025.

What Am I Listening To? CDs

2024-08-03T19:16:00.001-04:00

Streaming music online is really annoying. At first, it was pretty cool to be able to sample all these different artists and find new bands based on music I already know. Then the advertisements took over. Despite years of curating playlists on Spotify, I made the decision to delete the app on my phone. (And I am not alone in this. I recently read "Why I Finally Quit Spotify" by Kyle Chayka for the New Yorker.)

I downloaded Deezer, and everything was great at first. I was able to import my playlists from Spotify, losing only a few songs, and the sound quality seemed decent. A couple of songs that weren't on a playlist played at the beginning, but I was able to skip them (or add them if I actually liked them) and my chosen songs would play from there out. There was only the occasional ad for Deezer Premium, which easy enough to ignore.

Then things changed. I could no longer just skip over the songs I didn't want to listen to when selecting one of my playlists. The "100% Hozier" Deezer-created playlist included barely any Hozier songs, and the same goes for any other 100% artist or band list. (Deezer really needs to educate itself on what 100% means.) And the ads were obnoxious. It was Spotify all over again.

Not only can I not afford a monthly payment for music, I don't appreciate the bad contracts or how the music industry doesn't support most artists. It's not really a racket I want to build my future on. So I decided to go back to my roots: CDs. (Ok, my roots are actually cassette tapes, but the library doesn't lend those out anymore.)

At the moment, I have 6 CDs checked out from the district library. It was 7, but I returned one, and I have another on hold. Since none of my computers have a disc drive, I have mostly been listening to the CDs in the car, though our DVD player should also be capable of playing them. (When I am on my desktop, I have access to unknown gigs of mp3s, and I have enjoyed listening to playlists of decades past.)

I have been catching up with artists whose CDs I did not buy past their first one like ZZ Ward, Vanessa Carlton, and Tegan and Sara. I also grabbed the first album of Kacey Musgraves, an artist that, funnily enough, Spotify introduced me to about a decade ago. The one I have on hold is a very old favorite, "Grave Dancers Union" by Soul Asylum.

Using this tried and true technique, I am able to listen to the music that I like – even whole albums, which streaming seems reluctant to offer me these days. And I like getting to know these artists better.

If you have a favorite music streaming service, or you have a different way of listening to music, let me know in the comments!

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"Ypsilanti Ghosts & Legends" available now for preorder!

2024-05-23T11:32:00.001-04:00

Of course the water tower is on the cover.

Oh my goodness, y'all! Kay and I wrote a book! Amidst a lot of health problems, including being hospitalized for the better part of a week, I have not had time to update about this. My Haunted Mitten podcast cohost Kay and I spent the majority of last year working on a book for History Press's Haunted America series.

And it's available for preorder!!

From the back cover:

From its beginning as an outpost to its current offering of occult shops and restaurants, Ypsilanti has been made and remade by the people who love it. People like Mary Ann Starkweather, who may not only haunt her former home, but also Eastern Michigan's campus. Or the victims of John Norman Collins, who might lurk along the road on which they were found. However, ghosts aren't the only strange occurrence. Ypsi also has its fair share of UFOs, strange creatures, and inexplicable phenomena. Join podcasters and authors Crysta K. Coburn and Kay Gray on a tour of Ypsilanti's darkest, weirdest, and most puzzling encounters.

Did you know that swamp gas being the go-to explanation for UFOs started right here in Washtenaw County? You can read all about it in our book. Fans of True Crime will also find a couple of chapters to dive into. And you know I packed it with as much historical tidbits as I could. So there is a little bit for everyone!

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Thank you for reading. If you enjoyed this blog and would like to help support future posts, please consider buying me a coffee! Just click the link below.

Story Time

2024-02-13T23:15:00.001-05:00

I was watching Journey Across Japan on the Abroad in Japan YouTube channel, and the two guys go shopping at Daiso, one of the largest 100 yen shop chains in Japan. It's like a dollar store, except 10,000 times better with actually good quality and useful products. And I used to work at one.

How is that when I was only in Japan for 3 months in 2003? Because I lived in Mountain View, California for 4 months, and Daiso has (some) stores in the U.S. I put on the application that I minored in Japanese, and at the time my Japanese skills were stronger than they are now (though I've been practicing lately). This got me hired.

The store manager was Japanese, sent to the U.S. from Japan specifically to manage this store. All Daiso management is from Japan. There was one other Japanese employee when I started, a student who ended up losing her visa, and she was deported back to Japan. A manager-in-training was later sent from Japan, and he was adorably genki. The rest of my coworkers were Mexican American and Chinese American, both Cantonese and Mandarin speakers. Some of them did not speak English, but we all found a way to communicate and got along great. They were some of the best people I've ever worked with.

The Daiso was run like a Japanese store. We all changed stations every hour or two. (If you're familiar with Trader Joe's, they got this model from Japan.) However, wherever I was and whatever I was doing, I was very frequently being paged over the PA system and called to different departments. Why? Because I could read the packaging. Everything in the store was Japanese, thus so was the packaging. On the weekends, I was usually the only person in the store who could read it. (The manager didn't work weekends.)

The most common questions I was asked:

1) Is this a pen or a pencil?

2) Is this microwavable?

3) Is this dishwasher safe?

4) What is this?

If there is a moral to this story it's that you should study and learn whatever you want to in life, no matter how impractical it may seem to other people. Because you never know what wacky places it will take you. One day your very livelihood may depend on whether you can tell a pen from a pencil.

Long Covid Continues to be Terrible

2023-08-19T14:55:00.000-04:00

You may have noticed that it's been a while since I've updated. Lots has happened in my life, both positive and very sad.

I'm working on two books at the moment, one fiction and one nonfiction. So that's fun! I've also been working regularly as a feature writer for Mashed, which has been good for my spirit. But since having Covid, my energy is constantly low.

I've stuck with the library because it's a solid, reliable income, but it takes a lot more energy to maintain than it used to. I can rarely manage 19 hours a week now, and it's not exactly an intense job. Same with writing. All of my responsibilities used to be simple, but now it's like running a marathon just to stay at the circulation desk for more than 3 hours. And then I need a nap afterwards!

I read a book on long Covid that included info on acquiring aid for help around the house, which I'm considering looking into because I have trouble even unloading the dishwasher in one try. It usually takes 3 attempts before it gets fully emptied.

So many people now are disabled because of Covid. I keep hoping this isn't permanent, but not enough is known about Long Covid, and it's been over a year for me. Not that I've been able to afford to take time off to actually recover anything. I think if I had a month of no responsibilities, I'd feel much better. But who knows? That's unlikely to ever happen.

When I have more to share about the books, I will post here. I suggest keeping up with Haunted Mitten, which is where a lot of my energy is going.

Thank you for reading. If you enjoyed this blog and would like to help support future posts, please consider buying me a coffee! Just click the link right here.

FrankenFest Detroit 2022

2022-09-29T00:01:00.001-04:00

Haunted Mitten has a bunch of upcoming appearances in October, so I suspect my blog updates are going to be scarce for a few weeks.

A few weeks ago, my podcast cohost Kay and I presented for the second year at FrankenFest Detroit. (Click here to read about FrankenFest Detroit 2021). It was another great year, though it was pretty hot in the room. We don't blame anyone who had to leave to get some fresh air. Who thought it would nearly 90 degrees F halfway September? We had so many good questions and a wonderful audience.

One moment in particular stuck out to me and Kay. A pair of listeners came up and asked if we could record a video for a young listener who couldn't be there that day. Y'all, my heart... Of course we recorded the video and thanked them all for being fans! Haunted Mitten had become so much more popular and more quickly than we ever dreamed. It's surreal and amazing, and I couldn't be happier. Some beautiful friends who moved away during the pandemic drove up for the day, and it was just so awesome to be there, it really was.

Neighborhood Theatre Group was also there this year and had a table next to ours. So even more friends! Three performers, including my husband Greg, gave a bit of a teaser for Black Cat Cabaret, which I encourage everyone local to buy tickets for. Also in the room with us was Saving Scales Reptile Rescue. Unsurprisingly, the reptiles really ruled that room, which we were totally fine with. All of the animals got adopted well before the end of the day, which is wonderful.

Look at that beautiful dragon! She was quite the diva.

I believe our next public appearance will be at The Vintage Market presents: Wicked Pickin' on Sunday, October 9th at the Monroe County Fairgrounds. We'll be live recording all day for our Patreon patrons and talking with people about their paranormal experiences. I'd say I can't wait, but I still have a lot of preparation to do! We're also currently recording season four. So like I said at the beginning, lots going on! Check back for more updates, brief as they may be.

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Thank you for reading. If you enjoyed this blog and would like to help support future posts, please consider buying me a coffee! Just click the link below.

Summer Equals Great Times, Great Lakes

2022-09-08T00:01:00.001-04:00

This summer has been a pretty erratic one. There were either stormy days or ridiculously hot days. So not too many I really wanted to spend time outdoors in. But I need my lake time, or I become incredibly depressed. (Or depression deepens, depending on how you look at it.)

It has also been a busy summer for Haunted Mitten with multiple appearances and prepping for a growing number of appearances this fall. (I think we are up to 4 events in October alone.) And we still need to record season 4! So I really needed some time away to just relax.

Luckily, some friends of ours own a house on Lake Huron and hosted a Game Night weekend away! (Read about last year's Fabulous Friends Getaway to Lake Huron.) I did have to finish up an article for Mashed, but to be honest, waking up by the lakeshore and spending the first couple of hours working on my laptop while sipping a cup of tea was heavenly. That is what I want my life to be.

With my freelance work really (finally) taking off, my part-time library job is feeling more and more like a coat that no longer fits. It's an easy, well-paying, supportive job working with and for people I genuinely like. But it is still working someone else's schedule rather than my own. I have to wake up according to my work schedule, and I have to plan my entire week around it. It leaves me feeling like I have no free time. Maybe if it were a set schedule, it would be easier, but it isn't, which keeps my anxiety level constantly higher than normal as I am always worried about being late or forgetting a shift. (This is likely from my ADHD.)

I don't plan on quitting any time too soon as we are currently looking for a new house, and lenders like seeing reliable, concrete jobs rather than jobs that pay me when they pay me. I can't say for sure I will be getting more money by staying than going totally freelance, but the library does pay regularly. It is sounding like Haunted Mitten needs to be transformed into a business rather than a hobby, though, so maybe next year?

That being said, keep an eye on Haunted Mitten!! Big things are coming, and we are incredibly excited.

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We Have Expanded Our Family

2022-08-26T11:38:00.000-04:00

After the passing of our beloved boy Memphis, our house felt so empty. We still have our baby girl Tully, but even she seemed to be feeling the gaping hole that was left in our lives, behaving extra clingy and overly excited to see us when we arrived home after being away for even a few hours.

So my husband Greg and I decided to adopt two kittens. We were pretty sure that Tully was lonely, having never been alone before, but I worried that if we got one kitten, she might get annoyed with the constant attention the baby would inevitably give her. Two kittens could occupy each other while Tully got a break.

We first visited Tiny Lions Lounge and Adoption Center just to see how we felt being around other cats, and it was so lovely that we made a return trip a week or so later, when a few new batches of kittens ready for their new homes had arrived.

There were quite a few other people there, including a number of excited children, which was making many of the newly arrived kittens nervous. I watched a tiny black fluff scurry across the floor, dodging sneakers, and dart into a box. Since this kitten had gone unnoticed, I decided to investigate. I sat down next to the box and waited. I soon saw two little golden-brown eyes peer out at me. I picked up a nearby toy and dangled it just outside the box. Two little black paws instantly went wild trying to catch the toy.

While the tiny black kitten and I were playing, a tiny gray kitten with the same golden-brown eyes sauntered over and plopped down in my lap, purring. This did not last long. Once the gray kitten realized there was playing happening, she joined in, and I had two tiny kittens playing with me! Clearly this was a sign. (Not necessarily a cosmic sign. Animals have different levels of comfort, and they won't always get along with all people. We tried playing with another kitten later who was terrified of us.)

Later, just before we were set to leave, the tiny black kitten had gotten herself stuck on top of a half-wall and was mewing. So I picked her up, thinking to set her down on the floor or cat tree so she could scamper off and continue playing, but she had other plans. As soon as I had her in my arms, she climbed up on my shoulder and decided to hitch ride with me, destination unknown.

Greg and I decided to adopt these two little balls of energy and bravado, but we weren't ready to take them home that day. We made arrangements to pick them up that Sunday, a few days later. But when Sunday arrived, I received a call about 30 minutes before our appointment. The kittens weren't doing well. They were lethargic, barely playing, not eating well, and had lost weight. Our poor babies!

I was given two options: 1) Bring them home and see how they did. 2) Let them stay and see how they did, which included a checkup with the vet on staff. I chose the second option because that seemed the smartest, especially after our recent experience with Memphis. And it turned out to be the correct one! The two babies tested positive for feline panleukopenia virus, aka feline parvovirus. This can be serious if not quickly treated, which the kittens were. It is also highly contagious, though Tully had been vaccinated for it earlier this year, so she would have been fine. (We double-checked with our vet just to be sure.) The kittens went home with a foster who took care of them and got them healthy again.

It was an anxious couple of weeks for us, but the kittens were eventually given the all-clear, and we went to the Humane Society of Huron Valley, which also operates Tiny Lions, to pick up our babies and bring them to their new home. We had prepared the library for them with a kitten-sized litter box, scratching post, food and water dishes, cat beds, and plenty of toys. The black kitten we named Raistling, and the gray kitten we named Madame Leota, or just Leota for short.

That first night was a little worrying because Tully positioned herself outside the library door, yowling and hissing. We didn't know if she was mad about the kittens or that we had kicked her out of the library, her favorite room in the house. She spent most of the night outside the door, sticking her paws underneath and hissing when they were inevitably pounced on. She kept doing it, though, so she can't have been too upset!

The next night, we tried introductions. One by one, we carried the kittens out to where Tully was perched on the living room chair. They thoroughly sniffed each other, and Tully didn't seem angry in the least, just maybe a bit miffed. The kittens were released from the library the next day (I think) and allowed to roam mostly freely through the house. We closed a few doors to limit the amount of places they could wriggle into and hide.

Tully watched them carefully. If they got too close to her tail, she hissed a warning. She is very sensitive about her tail even with non-felines. Raistlin took the hint and learned to approach Tully with respect. Leota...not so much. Madame Leota is not really what I would call a learner. (To be honest, neither is Tully, which is why cactuses are no longer allowed in our house.) Leota mad-rushes around, throwing herself straight at EVERYTHING and everyone. Tully continues to not put up with her shenanigans, but she will now allow Leota to curl up next to her as long as she keeps her paws and claws away from the tail.

Happily, Greg and I were on staycation for most of the kittens' early days at the house, so we could observe their adjustments. When the kittens get the zoomies, sometimes Tully joins in. She will chase them, adjusting her speed so they "outrun" her, or she will get the kittens to chase her, always staying just out of their reach. They also play what I call King of the Castle. Tully gets in the living room chair or at the end of the chaise, and the kittens gather on the floor below her. The kittens jump up and go bap-bap-bap at Tully, and Tully goes bap-bap-bap down at them with no claws, no hissing, no growling. This often turns into zoomies. And when Tully gets tired out, she will find a place to curl up for a nap where she won't be bothered. Sometimes they all curl up together on the couch.

The biggest problem we are having is that no one seems to understand that they have their own food and should not be eating out of each other's bowls. The kittens keep eating Tully's food, and Tully keeps eating the kitten food. And they are all very sneaky about it! Smug even. Smh...

I am sure I will post more about kitten shenanigans in the future. And there are already pictures appearing on my Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

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On Playwrighting

2022-07-28T00:01:00.002-04:00

DON'T FORGET!

Bug Pit Collaborative Arts Summer Fest is this August 4-7 at the Riverside Arts Center in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Come check out some amazing local talent as well as my ten minute play, Letting Go, on the 5th and 7th! Greg will also have a play performed on those same days, Scav.

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When I was in college, I dated a writer who was interested in script writing, but Western Michigan University only offered fiction and poetry. And although I was a regular usher at Miller Auditorium (so I could see performances for free) and went to several middle and high school drama performances, I never considered writing plays beyond what was required for my tenth grade creative writing class. I got a C because the "subject matter" was not appropriate. The "subject matter" being that the main characters were a gay couple. (Insert mega eyeroll.)

Now I find myself married to a rather prolific playwright (no relation to the aforementioned datemate). I usually prefer short fiction when I get an idea for a story, or the occasional book, but sometimes, lately, I have gotten ideas for a story that doesn't necessarily have to be visually told, but they seemed to want to be. Also, I find it difficult to turn down a writing challenge. (Letting Go was written for Neighborhood Theatre Group's Inspired By… A Virtual 10-minute Play Festival in October 2020.)

So I did write a one act, and I would like to submit it sometime to see if anyone wants to workshop it, but it still needs some work. I had to put it down for a while because I wanted to look at it with fresh eyes for another rewrite. I also want to finally get more work done on my romance novels that I've been writing on and off for the past few years. I really like those characters, and they've been living in my head for a long time now.

Will I write more plays? I don't know. Maybe if another interesting challenge comes my way. As a member of the Neighborhood Theatre Group, I have a terrific place to take any plays I come up with. I am working on an audio-story, which is kind of like a play in that there are characters, and there is a script, but also very much its own medium. My husband has been developing a serial fictional podcast that I have sort of been helping out on as well.

Keep an eye out here for announcements of new projects!

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Upcoming Events: Authortube Writing Conference and Bug Pit Collaborative Arts Summer Fest

2022-07-14T12:38:00.003-04:00

My husband Greg and I were invited by a fellow steampunk author A. F. Stewart to speak on a panel for Authortube Writing Conference (July 15-17).

Steampunk and the Other 'Punk' Subgenres: An author panel on the nature of the "punk" genres. What is the difference between steampunk, clockpunk, dieselpunk, cyberpunk, etc. with tips and tricks for writing these genres.

So tune in and watch us on YouTube (link here)! I always have a great time talking with other authors and learning their unique techniques in our craft.

Bug Pit Collaborative Arts Summer Fest is this August 4-7 at the Riverside Arts Center in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Come check out some amazing local talent as well as my ten minute play, Letting Go, on the 5th and 7th! Greg will also have a play performed on those same days, Scav.

Letting Go was previously performed in Neighborhood Theatre Group's Inspired By… A Virtual 10-minute Play Festival in October 2020. The cast did a great job considering the medium, especially Mike, who needed to go back and forth interacting in two very different manners with his costars. I am really excited to see this performed on stage. I worry that people didn't really understand what was going on in the boxes of Zoom.

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I Can Write Again! Also FrankenFest Lansing

2022-06-23T16:37:00.002-04:00

In case you missed it, my wrist and hand were badly burned in the car accident a few weeks ago that totaled my poor Honda Fit. She was such a good car! And in amazing condition given her age. But this was her fourth and final accident. She did her job. She kept me safe.

I have a new car, a Ford hybrid, that I'm mostly enjoying. She has big tires to fill! (Metaphorically speaking.) She is also, literally, bigger than the Fit, and that is taking some getting used to. Her name is Cherry, not only because she's red, but because there is a character in one of my favorite books named Sherri, but everyone calls her Cherry because of her red hair. (If you can, name the book in the comments.)

So far, I've only driven her to work. BUT! This Saturday, Kay Gray and I are presenting Haunted Mitten Podcast: The Families of the Turner-Dodge House, and the Skeletons in The Closet at FrankenFest Lansing. And I've volunteered Cherry to be our mode of conveyance (because hybrid).

THIS IS WHY I LOVE HISTORY SO MUCH; THIS RIGHT HERE.

I fell down an amazing rabbit hole while researching for this presentation. The scandal! The intrigue! The hauntings! I found it all. I hope at least one person in the audience geeks out like I did. I need to do something else with this information. Maybe collaborate on a play or something.

I've also decided that not only are we going to be working on two Haunted Mitten books (I have them both already outlined), but we're going to make children's books. I still need to work out the details, but it sounds like so much fun! I have some ideas.

So come join us this Saturday at the beautiful Turner-Dodge House in Lansing! We will also again be at FrankenFest Detroit at Historic Fort Wayne this September. Also appearing at the Fort Wayne shindig will be Ypsilanti's own Neighborhood Theatre Group with a preview of the return of Black Cat Cabaret! (WHOOOOO!)

Those are all of my updates for now. If you enjoyed this blog and would like to help support future posts, or help reimburse me for Cherry's purchase, please consider buying me a coffee! Just click the link below.

How My Week Has Been, a Visual

2022-06-09T13:05:00.000-04:00

Buy me a coffee?

Long Covid

2022-05-26T15:01:00.003-04:00

Image by 愚木混株 Cdd20 from Pixabay

My doctor hesitated to diagnose me with Long Covid, but she also said that is probably what is going on. I am perpetually exhausted and trying to fall asleep. She sent me to a website about pacing, which has kind of helped, I guess. Basically, I have an extremely limited amount of energy I can devote to every day, and I have to carefully plan my week ahead in order to avoid crashing.

I can only work for about 3 or 4 hours before my body gives out, and my mind goes blank. Those hours have to be split between my library job, my writing jobs, housework, and socializing. My mid-days are often spent napping so I can squeeze in a little more activity later in the day. Most of my library shifts have been 3 hours long (coincidentally), but they tend to stretch to 5 hours on the weekends, and it's at the end of the week that I have the least energy.

My bout of Covid wasn't horrific (thanks to the vaccine), but: "A massive new study confirms vaccinated people are still at risk of long COVID." How wonderful. I can only imagine how badly my body would have struggled if I hadn't been vaccinated. I have had to take multiple breaks to sit and rest my eyes while typing this blog post.

I think that means I should wrap this up and try to nap before I try to get to work. Stay healthy, everyone!

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Sickness Sucks

2022-05-15T16:57:00.001-04:00

Due to being incredibly ill on Thursday, I could not blog. Check back circa April 26th for a new update.

My Experience With Having Covid

2022-04-28T22:23:00.000-04:00

Image by Miroslava Chrienova from Pixabay

I am lucky to have been able to stave off Covid for this long. I have been vaccinated and boosted, and I already take medications that keep me breathing. Since I didn't go to the hospital or even see a doctor, I guess that means my case was mild. But it is the sickest I think I have ever been. And I have been sick a lot in my life, including multiple outbreaks of mono. I even had pneumonia once. Covid topped them all.

The worst day was in the middle of the illness, which lasted over a week, when I was sneezing constantly, my throat was on fire, and I could barely talk or move. I did not seem to have a fever, though. Amazingly, my husband Greg didn't catch it, so he was able to take care of me and get whatever I needed. My wonderful friends checked in to make sure I was ok and also offered assistance.

Technically, I'm recovered now, but I am still easily tired (even more than usual), and I have little energy. I have only been able to work at my hourly job for 3 hours at a time. I can do writing for about 2 hours, then I need to nap for a few hours, then I can write again for another 2 hours, and I am done for the day. I can reliably do one task per day. That's it. So I choose carefully. Even a shower tires me out.

I anticipate a lot of short blog entries for a while yet. I may have some announcements in the semi-near future. It depends on how things go. Kay and I are working on some projects for Haunted Mitten that have us really excited. I will for sure be posting about those here as the happen.

Until next time... Stay safe, and if you haven't yet, get vaccinated!

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Otherworld in Columbus, Ohio

2022-04-14T00:01:00.001-04:00

On our way back from Steampunk Symposium 2022 in Cincinnati, Ohio, my husband Greg and I had to check out Otherworld in Columbus, "a 32,000 square foot immersive art installation in Columbus. Explore over 40 scenes filled with large-scale art and mixed reality playgrounds." Greg compared it to Meow Wolf, which neither of us has yet been to.

Otherworld was completely worth the detour! It's a trippy and occasionally disorienting experience that I highly recommend.

There was an overall story, which you could follow or ignore, that told of how scientists experimenting with other dimensions resulted in the "world" you find yourself in. Not all rooms referenced the story, but some reference it directly and are built around out, such as a janitors closet and an office. One of the office's walls was open to a bizarre forest clearing, though, so you can see how the "real" world butts up against the "other" world.

There were elements of both fantasy and science fiction. Some parts reminded me of a psychedelic Miyazaki movie. Others were reminiscent of the 1980s Twilight Zone reboot. (Yes, I'm that old.) One room was kind of like how I'd imagine Disney's Haunted Mansion on an acid trip. You probably don't want to be high while exploring Otherworld. But I can't stop you.

This isn't to say Otherworld isn't child-friendly. The numerous children running around seemed to be having a great time! But there are definitely some things that I think would have given me nightmares as a child, and that's not easily done. Plus, they sell CBD refreshments at the food stand, which I think says something about the kind of place this is. Yes, I am well aware TCH and not CBD is the active element, but the statement still stands.

There were people just sitting and hanging out in certain rooms carrying on conversations. There was one room in particular I totally would have just chilled in. The walls were mirrors, and there were old-timey sofas and chairs set up with a vitrola. I liked the groovy music being piped in. If there were a club like that near my house, I'd be a frequent patron.

Not every room was connected in the way you'd expect. In one room that had arcade machines set up, you could crawl under the machine, through a tunnel, and end up "inside" the game. There were a lot of tunnels to crawl through, and I definitely wasn't wearing the right pants for that. If I go again, I'm wearing jeans. There were also a lot of infinity mirrors, which sometimes made me a bit dizzy.

You can spend as much time as you'd like exploring all of the rooms. You definitely want to play with everything you see in case it turns out to be interactive, like the lights I found projected onto a floor that turned out to pop when I stepped on them. Greg had completely walked past them without noticing. As I mentioned before, there are lots of tunnels to uncover and crawl through, so be sure to check everything while you are there.

One day, Greg and I very much want to visit Meow Wolf, another interactive art installation, one day. There are locations in Santa Fe, Las Vegas, and Denver. We have friends and family in two of those locations, so it's not out of the realm of possibility some time soon. One of my hobbies during the lock down was to make Pinterest boards of places I want to visit, and Santa Fe is one of those places too.

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Steampunk Symposium 2022

2022-03-31T19:06:00.001-04:00

Greetings, friends! I have safely returned from far-off Cincinnati where my husband Greg and I attended and presented at Steampunk Symposium. This was our first time at this convention, and it was a grand time indeed! Everyone was so friendly and jovial.

The best part of the weekend for me was being able to hang out with Rod (R.S.) Belcher, Leanna Renee Hieber, and Thom Truelove and talk about creative pursuits. There's nothing quite like being with other writers for me. Writing is something that often sets me apart from those around me, so spending time with people who understand, when I can be my whole self, is a real gift.

We attended two panels that first day: Diverse Perspectives on the American West and Ghosts, the Victorians and Us, which was presented by Leanna. I've seen this presentation before, but it's always interesting, and I always learn something new.

On Friday night, Greg presented his panel on Cults, Communes, and Secret Societies. I ran the slides. We had a great turnout especially for a 10pm slot. I believe this is the second run of this presentation, with some fine tuning since last time. Greg's knowledge in these areas is always a hit at parties.

Because we had another late panel on Saturday (at 8pm), we spent time catching up with friends, shopping, attending a few other panels, and looking at all the cool outfits people wore around us. The steampunk St. Nicholas was among my favorites. I thought it was clever.

A terrific panel was Gunslingers and Penslingers: Tenacious Women of the Wild West. That afternoon is also when Leanna interviewed Rod, who was the con's guest of honor. A little after that, Thom ran a Doctor Who panel that had people create their own Doctor personas to win prizes. Rod helped judge.

Saturday's panel was a first for us: Cinema Guano Goes West. Greg and I traded off talking about Western movies and TV shows that are steampunk either in theme or element. We had a good audience for this one, and good conversation was generated. I would definitely consider doing this again with other themes at other cons. (The theme of the weekend was the Wild West.) We watch a lot of different films on the Cinema Guano podcast.

On Sunday, I couldn't believe the weekend was almost over! I was not ready to say goodbye to my friends. And even though Sunday was a shorter day than Saturday, it had the most panels that we wanted to see: The Bifurcation of Skirts: Manly Maidens in the Old West; Monster Hunting 102 ( all about cryptids); and then Leanna roped us into joining her and Rod on Feeding the Muse – How to Stay Inspired and Vibrant. That last panel could have gone on for twice as long easily. All for of us have different writing backgrounds and experiences, and people are always so curious about how to write.

I left the con with all kinds of wonderful ideas. I got some good writing and plotting tips from Rod and Leanna. Went over a project that Thom, Greg, and I had been working on until Covid sort of got in the way. Greg and I also brainstormed ideas for future panels for us and for Haunted Mitten, which I went over with Kay after I returned on Tuesday.

That's right. The con was over, but our vacation was not. Greg and I had one more stop to make before returning to Michigan. But that is a tale for another day.

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I (Mostly) Made Bath Bombs

2022-03-17T13:28:00.000-04:00

The unopened package of the bath bomb kit with key ingredients on display.

For Christmas this past year, my aunt-in-law got me a bath bomb making kit. (I had previously mentioned that they're easy to make yourself, but I had never tried.) I finally pulled out the box, blew off the dust, and gave it a try yesterday. With...mixed results.

The cats investigating the opened kit. It must have smelled very interesting.

The kit is comprised of:

1 bag bath bomb base (powder)
1 bag baking soda
4 tiny bags of mica colorant (3 different pinks and 1 yellow)
2 tiny bottles of essential oils (1 lemon and 1 tangerine)
1 spherical mold in 2 pieces

Here we go. Measuring mix into the bowl.

So yeah, pretty simple. All I needed was a bowl to mix in, a measuring spoon to measure, and my own two hands. (This could probably also be done one handed if needed.)

I made "2" bombs. You will soon see why I put that number in quotation marks.

Stirring the dry ingredients.

The first bomb seemed to work out well. I was able to pack the one side pretty tightly with a little left over for smooshing. Then I packed the second side, and it was only a little over halfway filled. Hmm.

Two bottles of essential oils, tangerine and lemon.

I hadn't decided yet if I wanted to attempt a second batch, so I just mixed approximations of a tiny batch; enough to fill the second mold so the two halves could be pressed together. And it worked!

Packing the mixture into the mold.

I set my timer for 1 minute, pressing tightly together the two full halves of the mold. I have it a little extra time just to be sure, and...it didn't work. I opened the mold, and had two tightly packed halves of a sphere.

All packed down.

I popped them out of the mold, and the one side stayed together perfectly while the other crumbled. So I pushed it back in the mold, packed it down tight, and tried again. A minute later, I had two halves of a sphere that stayed together, just not as a whole sphere.

The two halves did not stick together at all, as shown.

Since I had everything out, I decided I would try again. And that is how I ended up with 4 half-spherical bath bombs. There must be something I'm missing in either mixing or pressing the two halves of the mold together. Maybe I'm just not strong enough. It's easy enough to just toss two pieces into a bath, though, so I'm not concerned.

My four bath bomb halves in their temporary plastic home.

I put them into an old Kraft cheese slices container, which I then placed in a bathroom drawer. I have not tried them in the bath yet. Judging by the way the mixture fizzed when I added the drops of water, though, I think they will perform as expected. I added about 20 drops of tangerine essential oil and could smell it as I was mixing, so I assume they will be fragrant.

Lemon is not my favorite scent (I tend to associate it with cleaning solutions), but a mixture with tangerine might be nice, and I also have other essential oils around the house like lavender, bergamot, and jasmine that I'd like to try.

I think I will have fun with this kit, and it really was very simple. The kit was a good way to try my hand at making my own bath bombs. Since I now have a mold, in the future, when I run out of the kit's ingredients, I may continue experimenting with other blends. Bath bombs make excellent presents!

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2022 Appearances - Yes, I'm Presenting Again

2022-03-03T00:01:00.001-05:00

[Image description: The writer and her husband from roughly shoulders up. On the left, Greg is sporting a stylish moustache with the ends curled up, a short-trimmed beard, round blue-tinted sunglasses, a brown cap, white shirt, and brown vest. On the right, Crysta is wearing a black shirt with white polka dots, and a brimmed hat with a pair of goggles perched on top. Her earrings are tiny pewter books.]

That's right! I have several appearances scheduled for 2022. This is subject to change, but most likely things will be added rather than removed. Some events we've applied to have not been finalized, and other events are likely to pop up as the year progresses.

[Image description: A gold colored gear with a sheriff's badge in the middle that says "sheriff." Around the outside of the gear it says, "Steampunk Symposium MMXX." A red star has been shakily drawn to connect the 5 points of the badge.]

Steampunk Symposium
March 25, 26, & 27; Cincinnati, OH

My husband Greg and I will be presenting Cinema Guano Goes West, a panel that showcases where steampunk has met the Wild West in film, TV, and animation. The works we've chosen to highlight span the globe! This is a new presentation for us, but I am excited.

Kay and I were initially scheduled (pre-pandemic) to do our first Haunted Mitten Roadtrip panel, but she and her husband have preferred to remain cautious and are opting out of this indoor convention.

I honestly am a little anxious about being indoors with so many people again because I am just not used to it anymore. But I think the Symposium organizers have been careful and cautious this whole time, and I am daily reading Covid updates, so I am willing to take this chance. And I want to see our friends R.S. Belcher and Leanna Renee Hieber. (I hope these are not famous last words.)

[Image description: Background is a spooky forest with the transparent outline of a person. In the middle is the circular Haunted Mitten logo comprised of both peninsulas and Lake Michigan in white surrounded by black. Reads: FrankenFest presents Haunted Mitten Podcast hosted by Crysta Coburn & Kay Gray Saturday June 25 Turner-Dodge House Lansing Saturday September 17 Historic Fort Wayne Detroit FrankenFest.Com]

FrankenFest Lansing
June 25th; Turner-Dodge House, Lansing, MI

Kay and I will be doing our second Haunted Mitten live event at FrankenFest Lansing at which we will be discussing the famously haunted Turner-Dodge House itself. We did cover this in our Lansing episode, but there is so much history here that I cut out for time's sake, PLUS we'll be at the building so I can literally point out places where phenomena have been known to occur. How cool is that??

Some of my readers may remember that Greg and I attended FrankenFest Lansing last year (FrankenFest Lansing 2021), and it was that very blog post that got Haunted Mitten discovered by the organizers! The magic of the internet never ceases to amaze me.

FrankenFest Detroit
September 17th; Historic Fort Wayne, Detroit, MI

So nice, we're doing it twice! Haunted Mitten's first live event was here last year (FrankenFest Detroit 2021) all about the ghostly happenings at Historic Fort Wayne in Detroit. (We also had a table where we were selling our totally non-related steampunk books, and it was our most successful selling event to date.)

Kay and I need to finalize what we'll be shining a light on this time, so stay tuned for that announcement either here or on my social media accounts.

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Snow Day

2022-02-17T16:50:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Ant Rozetsky @rozetsky for making this photo available freely on Unsplash 🎁 https://unsplash.com/photos/H9m6mfeeakU

An Original Cinquain About Snow

2022-02-03T14:49:00.000-05:00

Snow

Bright, white

Falling, blowing, gathering

A bleached and pillowy landscape

Drifts

🌨️

If you are wondering to yourself, "What is a cinquain?" I'll tell you. It's a kind of short poem of only five lines about a thing. It reminds me a little bit of the Japanese haiku in that you have limited space to express an idea or a feeling. There are multiple formats to use for a cinquain. Here is the one I used for Snow.

Line 1: A noun

Line 2: Two adjectives

Line 3: Three -ing words

Line 4: A phrase

Line 5: Another word for the noun

There aren't too many synonyms for snow, so I went with something evocative; drifts as in snowdrifts. But also I wanted to convey how a landscape can change, or "drift," when covered with layers of something like snow.

It's been snowing here for two days, and the world outside my window has changed several times as the powder relentlessly piles up.

There something very cozy about being inside and looking out at the snow that I quite enjoy. Driving on snowy roads, not so much. So I'm happy to have the next week at home, whether I'm working from home or just drinking tea while reading a good book.

What do you think about snow? Let me know in the comments below. And if you enjoyed this poem, please consider buying me a coffee.